The script keeps repeating itself, but this time it hits closer to home for me. Many people will point to Amazon and the internet but the failure of Toys R Us is more complicated. I hope more news stories will mention the leveraged buy out that saddled the company with debt. I wish I knew more about the financial side and could share that with you, but this post is more of an emotional response.
While many will remember TRU from a child's perspective, I worked there during the 90's and it was one of my favorite jobs. TRU gave me purpose during a tough time and helped me acquire professional work habits. I started as third shift seasonal help and found a way to become the store manager. Retail was a great fit for me. My ability to empathize with others was a guiding principle in all my customer / client service jobs but it served me especially well at TRU. Merchandising was also a blast. It was professional Tetris with a flair for show and functionality. Retail is also in my blood. I had many extended family members who ran stores and it was something I was able to share with my Mom, as she was a craft ace at Michaels for +15 years.
I loved being the cool uncle who could score a rare Ninja Turtle. Every Christmas season there was a hot toy of the year. It was always a crap shoot on what toy it would be. We once had a whole aisle full of "Go-Go Walking Pups" as proof of guessing wrong.. Other years we would just get pestered with "When will you get that in?" "March" was never a good answer. Supply chain was pretty bad back then.. I ALWAYS loved the experience of opening a box full of new toys. The look of the flashy packaging and smell of the plastic was intoxicating. I did not care if it was Barbie, My Lil Pony, Transformers or Nerf Sports. It was all very cool.
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